238 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



editions under which these two branches of sport are 

 pursued are entirely different, of course, for in game- 

 shooting to fire into the "brown" of a covey of 

 partridges is a sin, and the killing of but one bird with 

 each barrel the only true form of sport. The wild- 

 fowler, however, may kill just as many fowl as may 

 be possible with one discharge ; in fact, the killing of 

 half-a-dozen or more of plover, duck, or geese will be 

 accounted unto him an honour, and as a display of 

 skill in circumventing the wildest of all feral creatures 

 in their perfect state of nature. 



But a question which concerns game-shooters at the 

 present moment is this : Why should so arbitrary a 

 limit be fixed upon the size of modern game-guns ? 

 Personally the matter appears to be one not so much 

 of bore of gun as of weight of gun and its charge. In 

 fact, the weight of shot-charge, if fixed at, say, ij oz., 

 might well be allowed to dominate the position. There 

 are, it may be pointed out, guns and guns ; 12-bores 

 weighing 7 Ib. and 12-bores under 5 Ib. in weight being 

 frequently seen out side by side in turnips or in covert. 

 The conversation, so often overheard at shooting-parties, 

 respecting the merits of certain bores, of 2O-bore or of 

 12-bore, is of small value so long as their respective 

 charges remain unnoted. One may well ask, wherein 

 lies the difference betwixt a charge of ij oz. of No. 5 

 shot from a 7 Ib. lo-bore, and the same ij oz. of No. 5 

 shot from a 7 Ib. 12-bore? The two guns may be ab- 

 solutely identical in regard to killing circle and driving 

 power, and wherefore should the sportsman using the 

 lO-bore be deemed to be without, and the sportsman 

 using the 12-bore be within the pale in respect of that 

 aforementioned unwritten code of sport ? 



